California Labor Laws, Non-Residents and Work Outside California

Does the California Labor Code protect out-of-state residents who work in California? Can the California Unfair Competition Law be used as a long-arm statute to pursue remedies for FLSA violations that occur outside of California? Yes. And no. Non-Californians may invoke the Labor Code or the UCL for labor they perform in California, but cannot assert a cause of action under California’s UCL for violations of the FLSA which occurred outside the State of California. Sullivan v. Oracle Corp. (9th Cir. 2008) 547 F.3d 1177, 14 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 321.

We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ first two claims. We hold that California’s Labor Code applies to work performed in California by nonresidents of California. We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ third claim. We hold that § 17200 does not apply to allegedly unlawful behavior occurring outside California causing injury to nonresidents of California.

Comments

"The only question we decide here is whether Plaintiffs have a valid claim under § 17200 for alleged violations of the FLSA outside of California. The district court concluded that § 17200 does not apply to any violations of the FLSA outside of California. We agree with the district court.

In Norwest Mortgage, Inc. v. Superior Court, 85 Cal.Rptr. 2d 18 (Ct. App. 1999), the California Court of Appeal held that § 17200 does not have extraterritorial application. ... Based on Norwest Mortgage, we conclude that § 17200 does not apply to the claims of nonresidents of California who allege violations of the FLSA outside California."

Work performed outside California would be governed exclusively by the FLSA or the laws of the state in which the work is performed. This could be significant if the claims are more than two to three years old, due to the application of various statutes of limitations.